Greece on Thursday protested to Turkey after the plane carrying its foreign minister was delayed on a flight home from an official visit to Iraq. The incident came ahead of EU talks over a dispute between the two neighbours over energy resources in contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean. State TV ERT said the plane carrying Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was forced to circle for 20 minutes late Wednesday near the Iraqi city of Mosul before being allowed passage by Turkish aviation authorities. "The foreign ministry has taken the necessary actions with a (diplomatic) protest," government spokesman Stelios Petsas said. European leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday, with Greece and Cyprus placing grievances over Turkish energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean back on the agenda. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades "will submit the latest Turkish provocations" to fellow EU leaders," Petsas said. "Sanctions are still on the table." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to give Greece the "answer it deserves" over their energy dispute. After a similar row in August, Ankara has redeployed the research ship Oruc Reis to strategic waters between Cyprus and the Greek islands of Crete and Kastellorizo. The United States and Germany, both NATO allies of Greece and Turkey, have labelled the gas exploration mission a "provocation" and urged Ankara to recall the ship. burs-jph/wdb